Re: How did you get started in tech writing?

["Collin Turner" <straylightsghost -at- gmail -dot- com>]

Late as well.

I've always been a Writer and Editor and I've primarily worked in Tech.
After starting my own company and going through the entire Rise and fall of
the .Com fiasco, I sat and revised my professional goals.

I enjoyed Tech Writing, Copy Writing, Editing. I saw a constant need for
these skills and I decided to apply myself - focus on these areas.

Voila!

15 plus years of TW skills sharpened and applied to this very day. It's
proven to be very portable, fast moving and valuable. Luckily, I have
experience in anything from financial, technical, engineering to
tech/IT...so it's been a fairly stable career for me - even in Contract
phases. Even the pay has been good to me.

-Collin



On Wed, Aug 20, 2008 at 9:23 AM, Blount, Patricia A
<Patricia -dot- Blount -at- ca -dot- com>wrote:

> Hi,
>
> Coming late to the party, as usual...but here's my story.
>
> Like Nancy, I worked as a secretary for many years and HATED it.
>
> Well, actually, let me amend that. I enjoyed the diverse work. What I
> hated were the lousy pay, the assumptions that I had no brains and
> couldn't handle "real work" and worse, couldn't aspire to anything else.
>
>
> It all started because I hated nursing school. I dropped out after two
> years and had to find work. Since all I could do was type, I spent a few
> years as a medical receptionist and then moved on to administrator and
> executive secretary roles.
>
> I had no idea what I wanted to be, so I pursued a degree in computers.
> This was the late '80's, when computers were still fun. It was a hot
> field and I figured a degree in it would guarantee me a well-paying job.
>
>
> After finishing my studies, I was a fully qualified Computer Operator.
> And couldn't find a job. Still a secretary, I returned to school for a
> B.S degree, this time in MIS, on my employer's tab.
>
> After I graduated, they refused to give me the opportunity to apply my
> recently-degreed skills, so I took them elsewhere.
>
> This was in the late '90s. At this time, computers were on every desk
> and email had replaced the interoffice memo. I'd become a PowerPoint and
> Word expert by necessity and found myself writing up little cheat sheets
> on the most frequently occurring problems the group I supported
> encountered on a regular basis. Those little cheat sheets of mine were
> soon in demand, as word got out to other groups that "Patty knows why
> those pages print in glphys instead of words. Ask her."
>
> Soon, I was distilling task-based instructions for equipment like
> digital slide scanners and cameras, the multiline phones in the
> conference rooms and even the voice mail system.
>
> When I left that job, my new employer said, "You're not a secretary,
> you're a technical writer."
>
> And the rest, as they say, is history.
> ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>
> ComponentOne Doc-To-Help gives you everything you need to author and
> publish quality Help, Web, and print content. Perfect for technical
> authors, developers, and policy writers. Download a FREE trial.
> http://www.componentone.com/DocToHelp/
>
> True single source, conditional content, PDF export, modular help.
> Help & Manual is the most powerful authoring tool for technical
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ComponentOne Doc-To-Help gives you everything you need to author and 
publish quality Help, Web, and print content. Perfect for technical 
authors, developers, and policy writers. Download a FREE trial.
http://www.componentone.com/DocToHelp/

True single source, conditional content, PDF export, modular help.
Help & Manual is the most powerful authoring tool for technical
documentation. Boost your productivity! http://www.helpandmanual.com

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